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The European Commission is considering imposing a fee on movie distributors to help fund the shift to digital cinema, which is expected to increase the EU's share of the global film market but is deemed to be too expensive for small cinema operators.

Special Panel “Global Economic Recovery” at the European Ideas Network Summer University, Vienna, 16 October 2009

What is this case about? What has the Commission said in its letter sent today? What does the British national telecoms regulator have to do now?

The European Commission today launched a public consultation of professionals from the EU's audiovisual industry on how to best seize the opportunities and address the challenges of the 'digital revolution' in the EU film sector. Digital cinema can make distribution of films cheaper and more flexible, enabling more European films to travel. 'Going digital' however requires high investments. One third of European cinemas could be threatened with closure due to the high cost of digital equipment – unless new business models and viable public support schemes are developed now. Feedback from cinema and audiovisual professionals as well as national film agencies and other interested parties during the 2 month consultation opened by the Commission today will feed into a Communication early next year setting out the Commission's policy on digital cinema.

The European Commission has called on the UK regulatory authority for telecommunications, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), to impose appropriate price control and non-discrimination obligations on all communication providers regarding their fixed termination rates (FTRs). FTRs are the wholesale prices which fixed operators charge for terminating calls on their respective networks. Non-discrimination obligations for alternative providers are necessary to ensure that they apply equivalent conditions in equivalent circumstances. In line with the Commission's Recommendation on Termination Rates (IP/09/710), an effective price control obligation leading to cost oriented termination rates is the most appropriate way to address the competition problems in this market.

A team of European researchers has demonstrated some of the first commercially viable plasmonic devices, paving the way for a new era of high-speed communications and computing in which electronic and optical signals can be handled simultaneously.

The post i2010 strategy will be a major contributor to the European Commission's overall strategy for developing a low-carbon, high value European economy over the coming five years. Whereas significant work has been done to date in estimating the footprint of the ICT sector per se as well as the "potential contribution" of ICTs to contributing to Energy Efficiency savings in various industrial and service sectors, there is still a need to develop a strategic framework for understanding and enabling more fundamental "re-structuring" approaches and in particular by identifying innovative approaches for engaging and empowering ordinary citizens in their daily activities to participate in this re-structuring. The objective of task would be to aid the Commission services to develop an innovative, strategic framework for the creative use and deployment of largely existing ICT capabilities and infrastructures to unleash the potential of the technology to contribute to the goal of a low-carbon, high-value economy. An additional task will be to assist the EU to identify and stimulate a series of innovative, fast to market, ICT facilitated, consumer facing initiatives in support of the accelerated achievement of efficiency, environmental and new economy targets.

All members of the ePractice.eu community are invited to vote online for the three best cases out of the 52 finalists that compete for the European eGovernment Awards 2009. The names of the finalists are available at ePractice.eu portal, which is ready to receive members' votes and comments. All the voters will participate in a draw for prizes.

The Pervasive Healthcare conference aims to gather together health professionals, technology experts, industry, and national authorities contributing towards the development and application of human-centered pervasive and ubiquitous computing technology for healthcare and wellness. Information on the Calls for workshops (30/10/2009), Position Papers, Posters (04/12/2009), Demos and Videos (22/01/2010) are available on the website.

The Pervasive Healthcare conference aims to gather together health professionals, technology experts, industry, and national authorities contributing towards the development and application of human-centered pervasive and ubiquitous computing technology for healthcare and wellness. Information on the Calls for workshops (30/10/2009), Position Papers, Posters (04/12/2009), Demos and Videos (22/01/2010) are available on the website.

On 15 October the Commission mandated three European standardisation bodies to develop standards for communicating cars. Car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication will improve traffic safety and the reliability of traffic information. It will help reduce congestion as well as road traffic's energy consumption and air pollution. Across all automotive brands, the new standards will ensure interoperability of vehicle communications. The standards will also enhance the competitiveness of European car manufacturers.

This half day workshop takes place on the occasion of the launch of the edited collection "Rethinking European Media and Communications Policy". The workshop will focus on the role of the consumer, as it takes four topical consumer-related angles from the main themes of the book. Participation is free of charge but prior registration is required (before 15/10).

This half day workshop takes place on the occasion of the launch of the edited collection "Rethinking European Media and Communications Policy". The workshop will focus on the role of the consumer, as it takes four topical consumer-related angles from the main themes of the book. Participation is free of charge but prior registration is required (before 15/10).

This event will cover topics such as the European Digital Agenda for 2020; the EU Telecoms Framework Review; copyright; Commission state aid proposals; developments in next generation access policy; regulating in a bundled environment and the digital dividend. Workshops will also focus on data protection, state aid, net neutrality and telecoms issues in Eastern Europe.

This event will cover topics such as the European Digital Agenda for 2020; the EU Telecoms Framework Review; copyright; Commission state aid proposals; developments in next generation access policy; regulating in a bundled environment and the digital dividend. Workshops will also focus on data protection, state aid, net neutrality and telecoms issues in Eastern Europe.

European researchers have created a world-leading camera in CMOS that can record photons at a million times a second. Best of all, it will be really cheap to manufacture, offering applications in consumer products, entertainment and in-car safety systems.

The European Commission and EU member states agreed yesterday (13 October) on an amended text concerning the rights of Internet holders, which could pave the way for a final deal on the telecoms package.

The project consortium will present its key results to a wider audience of stakeholders: a comprehensive collection of good ethical practices; a comprehensive collection of industrial ethical codes; a set of recommendations towards an operational roadmap. Two sessions of lectures will address the state of the art about: promoting an all inclusive digital society and monitoring privacy and ethical values. A concluding session will explore the priorities for future action.

The project consortium will present its key results to a wider audience of stakeholders: a comprehensive collection of good ethical practices; a comprehensive collection of industrial ethical codes; a set of recommendations towards an operational roadmap. Two sessions of lectures will address the state of the art about: promoting an all inclusive digital society and monitoring privacy and ethical values. A concluding session will explore the priorities for future action.

Stockholm, New York and other cities across the globe are increasingly relying on information and communication technologies (ICT) to manage low-emission traffic zones or improve their ability to fight crime. But privacy issues are never far away and will require political decisions, warns John Post, chief technology officer at IBM Benelux.